Mr. Jamal Johnson, a 60-year-old activist, is no stranger to long walks. Not long ago, he marched from Philadelphia, where he lives, to Harrisburg. And in 2015, Mr. Johnson said he participated in the nearly 1000-mile march with the NAACP from Selma, Alabama, to Washington, D.C.
Two years later, Mr. Johnson is heading back to Washington, D.C., but the distance he’ll travel, while extensive, will be shorter than his last march there. On Monday morning, despite the rain, the grandfather – who had his grandson, which he characterized as his inspiration, with him – began a 150-mile march to the Department of Justice. He anticipates arriving in the nation’s capital on the 28th of August.
Upon arrival – which will sync with activists across the country who that day will visit their local police departments to demand systemic change – Mr. Johnson will deliver a list of standards and demands meant to improve policing. Chief among the demands, which have been issued via the ‘Stop Killing Us Initiative,’ is that police officers nationwide be held accountable, not acquitted, when they kill black people.
Mr. Johnson on Monday started his long journey from the site where Mr. David Jones on June 8th was shot and killed while unarmed and fleeing a white Philadelphia police officer named Mr. Ryan Pownhall. Seeking justice for Mr. Jones, who was thirty years of age when shot in the back, is something Mr. Johnson told me he feels “extremely strong about.”
Members of the Justice for David Jones Coalition joined Mr. Johnson on Monday at 4800 Whitaker Ave and marched miles into Center City Philadelphia, resting their feet once they arrived in front of the District Attorney’s office, which until last week was investigating the fatal police shooting.
“Slow and shoddy” is how Mr. Johnson describes the investigation by the DA’s office. Only hours before Mr. Johnson began his walk, Techbook Online broke the news that the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General has been given the case to investigate due to an apparent or actual conflict of interest.
Mr. Johnson said his long walk to Washington, D.C. is due his desire to be “hands on with the people.” He hopes that the scene which played out on Monday – concerned citizens joining him in the street and marching, no matter the weather, as far as they can – will be recreated over the next two weeks.
On Tuesday at noon Mr. Johnson will pick up where he left off: outside the DA’s office and into the street.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
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